Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell, left, and Inglewood Police Chief Mark Fronterotta appeared together at an annual weapons collection event in 2017 in Rancho Cucamonga. Though McDonnell heads an agency with more than 18,000 employees compared to Inglewood’s 258, Fronterotta’s total compensation of $524,000 in 2017 topped McDonnell’s pay and benefits package by $50,000. (Staff photo by Rick Sforza, The Sun/SCNG)

Inglewood Police Chief Mark Fronterotta is the highest salaried chief in Southern California and the third highest in the state, according to recently updated public pay databases.

His $357,856 salary in 2017 surpassed that of police chiefs in nearly every California city, including Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. The chiefs in those cities oversee departments with thousands of employees.

By comparison, Charles Beck, the former chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, received $357,631 to lead a department with nearly 14,000 employees in 2017. The Inglewood Police Department had 258 employees that same year, according to the city’s budget.

Fronterotta’s base salary of $210,000 is more than doubled through bonuses and high-end benefits. Last year, his total compensation — salary plus benefits — soared to $524,000, according to public pay databases provided by the state controller’s office and the nonprofit Transparent California. Public agencies self-report the information on both websites.

More than 115 employees in Inglewood made more than $200,000 in total compensation last year. Of those, 22 exceeded $300,000. That includes $472,676 to City Manager Artie Fields and $312,063 to Melanie McDade, the mayor’s assistant and former campaign worker.

Inglewood’s city clerk has refused to disclose public records showing the specific bonuses and benefits paid to Fronterotta and other employees.

The chief did not respond to a request for comment. Inglewood Mayor James Butts and City Manager Artie Fields declined to answer specific questions about Fronterotta’s pay. Instead, they provided statements through a spokeswoman.

Bonuses tied to reducing crime

Fronterotta, a 37-year law enforcement veteran, became Inglewood’s police chief in late 2012.

Mark Fronterotta has been chief of the Inglewood Police Department for nearly six years. (Handout Photo)

“Chief Fronterotta receives a longevity bonus for his years of service with the police force, an incentive that helps Inglewood retain our officers, which is a key factor in keeping our city safe,” Fields said in his statement. “He also receives a bonus based on performance which is directly based on his success reducing crime and police liability.”

Beck, the LAPD chief, served for 41 years and still made less. Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell started his career the same year as Fronterotta and heads a department with 18,000 employees. Yet McDonnell’s total compensation was $473,987 in 2017.

In the joint response, Butts said Inglewood competes for well-qualified candidates with other cities in the region and prides itself on “offering fair and competitive compensation packages to ensure we attract the best.” Butts, a former police officer, was Fronterotta’s first supervisor at the Inglewood Police Department, according to a 2013 article by City News Service.

“Every year since Chief Fronterotta was selected by the City Council to be chief, crime has dropped to historic lows, proving his value to our City and its residents,” Butts said in his statement. “A safe city is not only important for the people who live here but also for encouraging investment and new businesses to our City.”

Crime rates in Inglewood have declined sharply in the past two decades, but the numbers stayed relatively flat in the years following Fronterotta’s promotion. The city’s spokeswoman, Courtney Torres, clarified that there has been a drop in either total crime or violent crimes in each year, but statistics provided by the city showed violent and total crime increased in four out of the six years.

Both violent and property crimes were higher in 2017 than in 2012, though only by a small percent.

Keeping a lid on crime is crucial in Inglewood as the city undergoes an economic renaissance. Property values are surging and billions of dollars in development are underway with the construction of an NFL stadium and adjacent entertainment district. The stadium, expected to be the world’s most expensive sports complex at a cost of more than $4 billion, will be home to the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers beginning in 2020, host the Super Bowl in 2021 and serve as a primary venue in the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Activist calls salary ‘ridiculous’

Nevertheless, a longtime resident and activist called Fronterotta’s salary “ridiculous.”

“No one, whether it is Mark or anyone else, in a city of this size, should be making that much money, period,” Diane Sambrano said. “As a government agency, that is obscene.”

Because Inglewood stopped publishing crime statistics years ago, she said it is difficult for residents to know if Fronterotta is succeeding. She personally doesn’t feel that there is less crime today.

“We have a lot of crimes that go unreported because why bother?” she said. “After you call three or four times, and no one takes action, why would you report the fifth?”

Fronterotta’s chart-topping salary came during a financially tough year for Inglewood. In the 2017-18 fiscal year, Inglewood planned to close a $17 million budget deficit in part by using $11 million in reserves. The city received a one-time $36 million boon by refinancing pension obligation bonds and now expects to begin the next fiscal year with $31 million in reserves, according to Fields.

“The city of Inglewood continues to be fiscally sound,” he said.

Note: This article was updated to clarify how Inglewood officials closed a budget gap in the 2017-18 fiscal year.

Jason Henry is an investigative reporter with the Southern California News Group. Raised in Ohio, Jason began his career at a suburban daily near Cleveland before moving to California in 2013. He is a self-identified technophile, data nerd and wannabe drone pilot.

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